My elderly parents still have their health and enjoy going rummage-saling during the summers in northern Wisconsin. Even though they have most anything they could ever need, they still like looking for that occasional treasure of a deal. They think I'm crazy for getting into blacksmithing several years ago, but they see it is a passion that I really enjoy. I always tell them to be on the lookout for anvils and such during their visits to rummage sales.

Visiting one rummage sale recently, my mom noticed some sort of large old-looking tool in the back of a pile of things for sale. She didn't know what it was used for, but she knows things I buy are usually big, old, and heavy. This was all three. A little piece of tape on the item said, "Blacksmith Cone".

Here it was a beautiful 48" cone mandrel. She tried to call me to see if she should buy it, but I wasn't around my phone.
She didn't know what it was worth, if she should buy it, or if I could use it.... She rolled the dice and decided to take a chance and buy it for me.
Of course my mother, always being the negotiator, she got them to move a bit on their sticker price.

$45.

 

She called later and I laughed out loud when she told me the price.  She was worried she paid too much!

It's nice to know Mom and Dad are still looking out for you.   :)

Wow! Great mom, great price! & one happy son.

Now that's a KEEPER Mom!  Awesome.  

She's a keeper for sure. She couldn't take it in the car, so had to come back later with my Dad and the truck to load it.

Quite dirty and rusty, but all cleaned up the cone looks great and ready for another 100 years.
Mom was floored when I told her that could sell at 10x that price.

Wow, you are one very lucky man on several levels!   Fantastic

Well worth a nice dinner for them!

I compliment you for your choice of parents Froggy, definitely a nice dinner's worth of SWEET score!

 

Frosty The Lucky.

I'm a lucky guy no doubt!
I visit every 6 weeks or so,(6 hours away) and do a lot of maintenance stuff, fixing things, wood cutting/splitting/stacking, and yard work for them throughout the year and I think this was a nice thanks for helping out with all the work. Still a fun time going out with them for a Friday Wisconsin fish fry along with a few beers. They are great people. :)

After finding this beautiful cone, and me telling her what that really could sell for, my mom was bragging about what great deals she can find by hunting around.
I said, "Oh yeah? Then go find me a power hammer for a deal like that......" ;)

Ya never know, I wouldn't put it past her.

You need to give her pictures of critical BS equipment- anvils, tongs, more cones, swage blocks, etc and tell her  they are all on your most wanted list. Then let her do her thing. Congrats! I'll give you $75 for the cone---- OK- I'll make it $80!

 

Steve

Very nice. A floor cone like that is on my want list.

Excellent, you are very fortunate to have such a great mom.

 

I've offered to let people adopt me, but I haven't had any takers.  :)

Awesome score.  Please give your mom my thanks for taking the chance on it!

Doing the cutting splitting, stacking, maint, fixing, hauling toting, etc. is right, just because they changed your diapers, kissed your boo boos and raised you up right. It's part of the deal a real Man lives up to with pleasure. Few things in life made me feel better than doing things for my folks. One of the few regrets I have is having moved so far away doing for them was a rare thing.

 

A mother is always a Mother and doing for the kids just can't be helped. Heck, even going for fish fry is a treat worth a 6hr. drive on occasion anyway. Can ANYBODY make a hot dish like Mom?

 

Now I'm missing my folks . . . AGAIN. <sigh>

 

Frosty The Lucky.

Frosty I agree 100%. My parents live on a gorgeous body of water in northern Wis, and I've spent almost 30 years helping them get it to what it is today. They say they feel bad that I have to work so hard helping them while up there on my vacation time, but I tell them a hard day of work up there is way better than a day of rest down south at my place. And that is the truth. :)

Parents are pretty sharp on most blacksmithing items, she hadn't seen a cone before...

Greetings Frog Man,

 

You are one lucky boy to have a mom that is a picker for your passion.  Lets see I think next birthday diamonds are in order...   One of my cone anvils was given to me ...  It was used as a dunce cap prop in a production company that closed...  Go figure...  

 

When unfamiliar people enter my shop and ask what that big pointy thing is I tell them it was given to me by a doctor ...   It is a suppository for someone with a iron deficiency . LOL    They promptly grab their but and say EUUUUU...

 

Forge on and make beautiful things

Jim